This invention relates to an improvement in the method invoked in the shortening of original equipment automotive frames in the building of the many "kit" cars or custom "Hot Rods" on the market today. More specifically, the Automotive Frame Shortening Device provides an inexpensive, reliable, and extremely ridged and durable method of reattaching the shortened frames of automobiles when used in a "kit" car or "Hot Rod" type application.
With the vast increase in the demand, value, and resale prices of classic and antique automobiles over the recent past, many automobile enthusiasts have opted for the less expensive, and often the only, option of building "kit" car replicas of such automobiles. This allows these enthusiasts the thrill of owning and driving "show-room" condition classic cars (such as the 1967 Corvette Convertible) without the large financial investment necessary to acquire an original. The Automotive Frame Shortening Device provides a reliable and safe method of building such a car.
Prior to the present invention, when building a "kit", car the necessary shortening of the original equipment automotive frame was accomplished by cutting out the desired length from the center portion of the frame with a cutting torch and welding the remaining sections back together. This process has two inherent problems in the resulting structural integrity of the frame: the intense heat created in the cutting and welding process alters the molecular structure of the steel used in the original equipment frame; and, the strength of the original equipment frame is compromised by the process. This is often an unacceptable result as the frame is such a critical component of an automobile; the frame of the automobile is the structural backbone of all automobiles providing the attachment points and support for all of its major components including the engine, drive line, body, and wheels. This makes it imperative that a shortened frame be capable of withstanding the horizontal and vertical stresses placed upon it.
The strengthening of the frame is especially important in this application due to the fact that many, if not all of the "kit" cars being built are either by their nature high performance automobiles or are modified by their owners to be so. The resulting increases in performance places greater degrees of structural stress on all of the cars components, including the cut and welded frame. This is especially true when this method of rejoining the severed frame is used in conjunction with the high performance components of today's "kit" cars.
From the foregoing discussion, it can be seen that it would be advantageous to provide a method of reattaching a shortened original equipment automotive frame in a manner that would maintain or increase the structural integrity of said frame. The present invention addresses this problem of reattaching a shortened frame while avoiding changes to the molecular structure of said frame (and the weakening thereof) encountered when the prior cutting torch and welding practice was incorporated. The Automotive Frame Shortening Device accomplishes this result in an inexpensive, reliable, extremely ridged and durable method which is capable of withstanding the stresses placed upon it not only in normal use, but also when used in conjunction with the high performance components used in many "kit" cars today. The present invention also offers other advantages over the prior art and solves problems associated therewith.